“Stories — whether magical or real — can help us connect, empathize and re-imagine the world.”

Title

Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing

Educational Background

• Ph.D., University of Cincinnati — Cincinnati, OH
• M.S., Syracuse University — Syracuse, NY
• M.F.A., Syracuse University — Syracuse, NY
• B.A., Indiana University — Bloomington, IN

Year Joined Franklin

2019

Expertise

I’m a fiction writer, and I specialize in teaching all forms of fiction writing – especially the short story, the novel, sci-fi and fantasy, and comic book writing. I also specialize in contemporary literature, especially fabulist fiction, magical realism, postmodernism, sci-fi, and all things weird and magical.

Select Professional Accomplishments

My publications include short stories in Esquire, Alaska Quarterly Review, The Cincinnati Review, and anthologies like Best American Fantasy, Best New American Voices, and New Stories from the Midwest.

I’ve been in residence at Yaddo and was the selected as the Sarabande Books writer-in-residence at Bernheim Research Forest. I was awarded the Al Smith Fellowship from the Kentucky Arts Council, and I’ve received fellowships from the Saltonstall Foundation for the arts, the Charles Taft Center for the Humanities, along with others. I’ve presented several times at the AWP Conference — the national conference for creative writers.

In My Spare Time

I love playing board games and role-playing games with my family, and I attend Gen Con. I watch Doctor Who with my daughter, and we’re both partial to the tenth doctor (played by David Tennant). I read a lot for pleasure — realism just as often as the weird stuff. As a family we spend every evening quietly on the couch, reading books.